Newslinks for Wednesday 21st June 2017

Queen’s Speech 1) DUP threaten to reject Conservative deal

“Theresa May was left exposed last night as the Democratic Unionist Party warned that it could scupper her minority government on the eve of today’s Queen’s Speech. The Northern Irish party, which has ten MPs, ramped up pressure on the prime minister by saying that talks over a deal to prop up her administration were not proceeding “as expected” and cautioning that their support “cannot be taken for granted”. The implicit threat to withhold support for the Queen’s Speech in a Commons vote a week tomorrow — the crucial test of the government’s viability — overshadowed the prime minister’s plea to voters for a second chance after their rejection of her appeal for a personal mandate.” – The Times(£)

Queen’s Speech 2) Unpopular Manifesto policies dropped

“A series of manifesto pledges blamed for costing the Tories a majority will be dumped, including plans to scrap the winter fuel allowance and the pension triple lock, a vote to repeal the foxhunting ban and the scrapping of free school dinners for infants.” – Daily Mail

Queen’s Speech 3) Far Left promise “Day of Rage” protests

“Far-left protesters were condemned last night for trying to ‘hijack’ the grief of Grenfell Tower victims. Several militant groups will converge on Westminster today for a ‘Day of Rage’ against Theresa May’s Conservative government. But organisers were branded ‘opportunistic political point-scorers’ for using last week’s fire disaster to encourage people to march. Furious Grenfell victims said the militant mob was exploiting their anguish before they had even buried their loved ones.” – Daily Mail

Queen’s Speech 4) May promises “humility and resolve”

“Theresa May has promised to work with “humility and resolve” as the government prepares to outline its legislative programme later. Brexit is expected to dominate the Queen’s Speech, which will cover a two-year period instead of one. It is also expected to include measures on domestic violence and car insurance.” – BBC

Brexit 1) Hammond calls for greater prosperity to be priority

“Jobs and living standards must come first as the UK negotiates its exit from the EU, Philip Hammond has said. The chancellor said it would require “every ounce of skill and diplomacy” to get the right deal, warning that people didn’t vote for Brexit to be poorer. Speaking in London, he said changes to customs arrangements should be phased in and there should be transitional measures to protect key industries.” – BBC

Brexit 2) Fernandes to lead fight for clean Brexit

“A Cambridge-educated barrister who has been an MP for only two years is the new leader of an influential group of pro-Brexit Conservative backbenchers. Suella Fernandes, the MP for Fareham, is the new chairwoman of the European Research Group, a caucus of about 60 MPs from the Tories’ traditional right, lobbying for a hard Brexit. Prominent members include Owen Paterson, Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers and Bernard Jenkin.” – The Times(£)

Brexit 3) Duncan tells Boris to “stop playing games”

“Boris Johnson’s deputy has told the Foreign Secretary to stop “playing games” and described claims by ministers that Brexit will be straightforward as “knuckle-headed lunacy”. Sir Alan Duncan, a Foreign Office minister, said he believes that getting a deal on Brexit will be “fraught with difficulty” and suggested that those who believe Brexit will be “pain free” should not be in politics.” – Daily Telegraph

Brexit 4) Fall in eastern europeans registering to work in UK

“The number of East European migrants registering for work in Britain has plunged by a third since the EU Referendum, a think tank claims. In fresh signs of a ‘Brexodus’, the Migration Observatory said just 26,000 workers from EU8 countries such as Poland applied for a National Insurance number in the first three months of 2017.” – The Sun

Brexit 5) Heseltine back on the attack

“Lord Heseltine believes Britain is being humiliated as he claimed the European Union won the opening shot of Brexit negotiations. The staunch Remainer said that hard Brexit is “dead” as he added that the Brussels bloc had won the first round of negotiations. Lord Heseltine told BBC Newsnight: “The opening shot, yesterday [Monday] at the first meeting, we lost the argument on the issue of the bill we are going to have to pay. “We wanted to get onto the trade issues, which are vitally important. The French and the Europeans said no, we protested, what happened? They won.” – Daily Express

Scottish Conservatives sued over MEP “stitch-up”

“The Scottish Conservatives are being taken to court by a disgruntled party stalwart over an alleged “stitch-up” by Ruth Davidson. A writ has been served on the Tories by a former candidate in an increasingly heated row over who should represent the party in Brussels. Belinda Don is furious at being passed over in her attempt to become a Scottish Conservative MEP in what critics claim is a deliberate snub by Ms Davidson, the party’s leader. A Scottish Conservative spokesman said last night that the writ had been served but the party was unable to comment. The outbreak of infighting within the Scottish party is embarrassing for Ms Davidson, who has been lauded by her party for winning 13 seats in the general election.” – The Times(£)

At least we saved the Union says May to donors

“The Conservatives may have lost their majority, but Theresa May told party donors and activists that there is a silver lining: they may have saved the United Kingdom. In an upbeat address to nearly 400 Tory supporters at a fundraising lunch at the Savoy hotel yesterday, the prime minister admitted that they were meeting “against a background of a general election which didn’t quite turn out as I planned”. Her candid admission drew dark laughter from guests, who lunched on truffle salad, lamb, and mango pie accompanied by sauvignon blanc and merlot.” – The Times(£)

New boundaries would still have denied Tories a majority – The Times(£)

Javid comforts fellow Muslims outside Finsbury Park mosque

“A tearful Muslim woman comforted by Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, outside the Finsbury Park mosque after Monday’s attack has described her concerns about her son’s safety in London. Runa Leila Begum was urged to “stay strong” by Mr Javid when she visited the mosque on Monday morning to pay tribute to the victims, but has since spoken of her fears for the future as a Muslim in Britain.” – The Times(£)

Why do lefties say London Bridge attack was an ‘incident’… but Finsbury Park Mosque attack was ‘terrorism’? – Brendan O’Neill The Sun

Cable to stand for Lib Dems leadership

“Sir Vince Cable says he is a candidate to become Liberal Democrat leader. The former business secretary, who has served as deputy leader and acting leader in the past, is throwing his hat into the ring after Tim Farron said he would stand down this summer. Sir Vince, 74, has been a senior figure in the party for over 20 years and won his Twickenham seat back at the election. Another ex-minister, Jo Swinson, has become deputy leader.” – BBC

Labour no longer the party of the working class says Curtis

“Labour’s days as the party of the working class are ‘long over’, elections expert John Curtice said yesterday. Professor Curtice, whose election exit poll pointing to a hung parliament stunned the main parties, said this month’s election had been decided on lines of age and Brexit allegiance rather than class. New analysis yesterday revealed that the Tories picked up large numbers of working class voters during the campaign, while Labour’s surge relied mainly on support from the professional classes.” – Daily Mail

Sturgeon to “break silence” on second independence referendum

“Nicola Sturgeon is “likely” to break her silence on her plans for a second independence referendum before the Scottish Parliament breaks up next week for its summer break, her spokesman has said. With the SNP teetering on the brink of civil war of whether a referendum should be taken off the table, the First Minister led a discussion of the Scottish Cabinet yesterday on independence.” – Daily Telegraph

Eurocrats “out of touch” with Europeans according to survey

“Significant splits have opened up between the European Union’s so-called gilded elite and the ‘simmering discontent’ of ordinary citizens, a damning report has revealed. A withering study by a major think-tank found a ‘visible divide’ between the opinions of Eurocrats and the bloc’s population of 508 million. The data – based on a survey of public opinion – showed a ‘continent split’, according to London-based international affairs organisation Chatham House.” – Daily Mail

Victory for Republicans in Georgia

“Republicans have won a closely contested congressional election in Georgia seen by many as a referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency. Karen Handel retained the Atlanta seat for the Republicans with 53% of the vote, against 47% for her Democratic rival Jon Ossoff. House Speaker Paul Ryan congratulated Ms Handel on a “hard-earned” victory. Meanwhile in South Carolina, Republican Ralph Norman beat Democrat Archie Parnell in a solidly conservative area. President Trump congratulated both candidates.” – BBC

Letts: Stop demonising Mrs May

“Having spent several days in Herefordshire rather than in the cauldron of London, I doubt that many more than a few hundred hard-Left fanatics truly swallow this poison about Mrs May having conspired in the terror attacks. Similarly, I suspect most fair onlookers would accept that her failure to hug survivors of the Grenfell fire was evidence of nothing more than a rather old-fashioned belief in respecting the privacy of the bereaved. For goodness’ sake — and for the sake of our long-term stability — let’s get behind the poor lady. Lay off Mrs May!” – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

Heath: Huge private sector housebuilding is needed

“The answer must be to focus on rebuilding an asset-owning society: Britain needs a massive, private-sector driven housebuilding programme to ensure that at least 1 million extra households become homeowners; and auto-enrolment needs to be dramatically extended to build a new savings culture. Many Corbyn voters are actually frustrated capitalists. The Momentum-controlled Labour Party, for which the mass ownership of wealth is anathema, is not their natural home. The country is crying out for radical conservative solutions. The tragedy is that the Tory party is in no fit state to deliver them.” Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph

Downing Street can restore relations with business – Christian May, City AM

Finkelstein: To win the Conservatives must get real incomes rising

“In order to win again — a fourth term, which is really hard — the Conservatives need to get real incomes rising. That means that they need to settle Brexit in a way that allows such a rise and that promises economic stability in future. And then they need to make anew economic arguments that they thought were settled. Otherwise they will be entirely reliant on the gap between their own leader’s approval rating and those of Jeremy Corbyn. And that didn’t go too well this time, did it?” Daniel Finkelstein, The Times(£)

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